With the establishment of the Norway visa centre by the Bhutan Visa Application Centre in Thimphu, Bhutanese will not have to visit New Delhi or Kolkata to apply for visas to Norway.

The opening ceremony for the Norway visa centre was attended by the ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, Nils Ragnar Kamsvag, who was accompanied by his first secretary, Ragnhild Vognild.

“I am very optimistic about the future and hopefully more Bhutanese will visit our country and learn about our country for we have common features of great natural sights, not only for academic purposes but even for commercial contact,” he said.

Applying for a Norwegian visa online will cost 60 euros while applying for a visa at the centre will cost Nu 4,350, which includes logistical and courier services.

Bhutan and Norway celebrate 50 years of collaboration this year. This includes collaboration in the fields of renewable energy, health, education, and other institutional contacts.

The ambassador said that he hopes that relations between Bhutan and Norway will be further strengthened with the establishment of the centre.

Till date, the Bhutan Visa Application Centre has been processing visa applications for Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Tashi Chophel | Intern